Checkmate
by Shiny the Strange
Summary: Modern AU. Takumi is in love with Leo and wants nothing more than to confess these feelings to him. The only thing standing in his way is his fear of rejection.
1. Superego

**As usual, you can find this on AO3 (link in my profile). This story is meant to be a prequel to my previous multichapter fic, _Noire Jument, Blanc Cheval_. It takes place in the same universe. **

**It's not necessary to read that in order to enjoy this one, though. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Dear Leo…you know I've always loved you as a friend. But today I need to tell you that it's more than that…no, not good enough._

Takumi paced around the washroom, rubbing his temples. He exited the washroom and stared at the discord in his room. Boxes were piled high, overflowing with the various things Takumi brought with him to the dorm. Soon there would be even more boxes, once Leo arrived with his things for the year.

Outstretching his arms and falling face first onto his bed, Takumi sighed.

 _Guh…why can't I do this? All these years, and I still can't…!_

A knock sounded.

 _Hmm…Leo said he wouldn't get here for another hour, so that probably isn't him. But…_ Takumi pushed himself off the bed and wandered over to the door. He opened it to find Zero, who grinned.

"Hello there, Takumi," said Zero. "Is Leo here yet?"

"No, not yet," said Takumi. "He should be around in an hour or two, though. What do you need?"

"That's unfortunate." Zero leaned against the doorframe. "I don't really need anything. All I wanted was to tell him that I won't be living in res this year."

"…Couldn't you have seen him sometime during the summer? Or called him?"

"Yes, but this was a last minute decision. And I'd prefer to say it in person," said Zero. "I'm still going to Tellius U. I just won't be returning to Gallia Residence, or any res for that matter. I've decided to move into an apartment with my boyfriend, you see."

Takumi nodded. A smile spread across his face.

"Well, I wish you luck then."

"Thanks." Zero smirked. "You don't need to look so happy. You were never in any danger of me taking Leo away from you."

Takumi's eyes widened.

"E-excuse me?!"

Zero gave a sardonic laugh.

"You are far too obvious, Takumi. _Everyone_ knows. Even Leo might know. Then again, with how affectionate you've always been with each other, there might not be any reason to suspect-"

"T-there is no way everyone knows!" cried Takumi. "We don't act _that_ affectionate in public!"

"Maybe, but the fact that you two are practically joined at the hip and living together in the most gay-friendly residence on campus isn't exactly what you'd call convincing."

"S-stop that!" said Takumi. He began to close the door. "A-anyway, I'll let Leo know you stopped by! Goodbye!"

"Just one more thing," said Zero, pushing open the door. "I heard Ike is the RA of Gallia this year. Don't let him know I was here."

"W-why?!"

"Because it's Ike, and I shouldn't be here," said Zero. "I don't have a key to get in, after all."

"N-no key? Then how-" Takumi hit a realisation and groaned. "You broke in again, didn't you?"

"That's right. Now if you excuse me, I must be going." Zero flicked Takumi's nose before leaving.

Takumi closed the door and rubbed his nose.

 _D-damn it! Still as thuggish as usual…how are he and Leo still friends…_

A few minutes later, there was another knock.

Sighing, Takumi pushed the door open.

"What is it now?"

"…I'm your RA."

Takumi faced the visitor and gasped. Instead of Zero as he expected, a tall man with navy blue hair was looking down on him. He gulped.

"S-sorry about that. I thought you were someone else." Takumi forced a laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm Takumi. You must be Ike."

"Yes, I am," said Ike. "It's nice to meet you, Takumi. Anyhow, I wanted to let you know that if you need assistance in any way, my room is at the end of the hall. Also, there will be a house meeting tonight at 9pm."

"Oh, yeah…thanks," said Takumi.

Ike nodded and began to walk off, then stopped and reached into his bag.

"I-is there anything else?" asked Takumi.

"I almost forgot to give you these." Ike walked back to Takumi and held out a handful of condoms.

Takumi took the condoms and raised an eyebrow.

"C-condoms? But why…"

"Just in case. If anything happens in the future, you need to stay safe," said Ike. "If they aren't your size and you need some, I'll be providing them. Again, if you have any questions, ask me."

Takumi stared as Ike knocked on the neighbour's door. He looked at the condoms in his hands.

 _If I do end up using these, it'll be a miracle_ , thought Takumi. He closed the door and sat back on his bed.

* * *

Takumi and Leo sat on the couch in the residence building's lobby.

"I swore I had it," said Leo. He put his hands in his pockets, removing them once it was clear they were empty.

"I believe you," said Takumi. "Maybe you just dropped it somewhere?"

"I was thinking the same thing," said Leo. "But where? It was in my pocket; it couldn't have fallen out that easily."

"Maybe it was in the same pocket you had your phone in? You could've pulled your phone out to check something and the key card might've fallen out."

"That's true." Leo shook his head and frowned. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" asked Takumi.

"Unless Zero snatched it away while we were chatting earlier," said Leo.

Takumi nodded.

"So you two did chat. Knowing him, that's probably what happened."

"Yeah…I'm going to try calling him," said Leo, pulling his phone out.

Takumi gazed around the room, waiting as Leo dialed Zero's number. His eyes returned to Leo as he paced around and held the phone to his ear. He noticed Leo clench his teeth, something he did rather often.

 _Leo never clenches while talking to me_ , thought Takumi.

Leo scowled as he hung up and called again. He put a hand on his hip, slowly tapping his fingers. Licking his lips, his eyes met Takumi's.

Heat began to rise in Takumi's face as he averted his gaze. Though he felt as frustrated as Leo did, he couldn't help but find his friend's glittering eyes beautiful.

Leo sighed.

"Figures he wouldn't pick up."

Takumi stood and put his hand on Leo's shoulder.

"He has to be doing this on purpose."

"Exactly," said Leo. His eyes met Takumi's again. "Let's look for him. When I talked to him earlier he said he was going to stick around campus for a bit, specifically around Crimea res. So he's probably still around."

Takumi felt a smile spread across his face.

"I was going to ask about that. It's worth a try."

Leo grinned back, causing Takumi's heart to flutter.

"Alright, I'll check Crimea."

"Sounds good, I'll look around Gallia," said Takumi.

* * *

By the time Takumi finished thoroughly checking in and around Gallia, night fell. He leaned against a tree and sighed.

 _Damn it...I guess I'll just lend him my key for the night until he can buy a new one._

The wind rustled the leaves as Takumi pulled out his phone to call Leo. He yawned.

A leaf fell into Takumi's mouth as the rustling of the leaves got louder.

Takumi quickly dropped his phone and looked up. Something on a lanyard fell and hooked onto a branch.

Picking his phone up and standing, Takumi noticed it was in the shape of a card.

 _Could that be_...? He leapt at the object, unable to reach it. _Damn...I need something to help me._

Takumi ran towards the residence. _I won't tell Leo yet...it might not even be his._

* * *

Returning a few minutes later, Takumi extended his selfie stick.

 _And Ryoma said this would be useless to own_ , thought Takumi.

Sticking the selfie stick through the lanyard's loop, Takumi brought the object down. He held the card; it read _Nohr, Leo_ on a sticker.

"Yes!" Takumi pumped his fist. He pulled his phone out to tell Leo the good news.

A crackling sound shot through the branches. Zero jumped from the tree and landed in front of Takumi.

Takumi yelped and fell backwards, dropping his phone and selfie stick.

"Oh, did I scare you?" Zero smirked as he helped Takumi up. He leaned over and picked up the selfie stick and a rock; he handed the stick to Takumi and pocketed the rock.

"W-what does it look like? Of course you did!" cried Takumi. "What are you doing here?"

"Why do you think? You're smart, you can put the pieces together I'm sure."

"You're here because you're a sadist who wants to see me squirm."

"Maybe so, but that's not entirely why I'm here right now," said Zero. "Seriously. I was in the tree and so was the key. I only revealed myself when you got here. Think about it."

"That much is obvious, considering that you stole it," said Takumi.

Zero laughed.

"I'll give you a hint. Think back to the conversation we had earlier today."

Takumi frowned.

"Our conversation? What about it...?" Takumi's stomach suddenly clenched as he remembered. "Hold up...you were waiting for me, weren't you? You dropped the card in the tree when I came over...You intended to make me find it and give it back to Leo! ...Are you trying to help me get with him?!"

"I may be, I may not be," said Zero. "I would just give the card to Leo and not mention my involvement."

Takumi put a hand to his face.

"So you are. No offense, but I don't need your help."

"You may not realise it, but you do," said Zero.

"No, I don't!" Takumi crossed his arms. "I just need some time, and I'll confess to him myself!"

"Too bad, I'm going to involve myself anyway."

Takumi growled and marched past Zero towards Gallia.

"See, the two of you are _too_ comfortable around each other," said Zero. "Meaning that if you were to go out and suddenly tell Leo you love him, he'd probably just brush it off as platonic love, huh? And let's not forget how obliviousness runs in his family."

Takumi balled his fists.

"S-shut up! You're wrong!" _D-damn it...he's got a point..._

"I'll do what I please, so there's nothing you can say to stop me. You should be thankful I'm not giving you the shaft instead."

Takumi's eyes went wide. He opened his mouth, then closed it.

"I'm going back to res. There's a house meeting. Goodbye." He walked back to the residence. Reaching into his pocket for his phone, it wasn't there.

 _What the..._ Takumi patted himself down before hitting a realisation.

It wasn't a rock that Zero pocketed.

* * *

A month later, Zero still hadn't given Takumi his phone back. He used his outdated flip phone in the meantime and recently ordered a new smartphone as a replacement.

He hadn't admitted his feelings for Leo yet, either. However, such feelings were the last thing on his mind in the moment.

"It's Bowser time!" said Takumi, selecting his character in _Super Smash Bros. for Wii U._

"Well, I'm..." Leo hovered over Marth.

"...Not going to choose him this time?" Takumi patted Leo's back.

"...No, I'm not," said Leo, selecting Ike instead.

"I still can't believe Ike made it into Smash," said Takumi.

"Me too. You'd think they'd put a character from an actual game in," said Leo.

A knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it," said Leo.

"No, let me," said Takumi.

"No, I insist," said Leo.

"I'm going." Takumi stood and ran for the door, then slipped on a blanket and fell to the ground. He noticed a phone slide next to him.

Leo opened the door and cursed.

"Nobody's there. Figures."

Takumi grabbed the phone in front of him and groaned.

"Leo. It was Zero. He slid my phone under the door." Takumi sighed. "Great. I buy a new phone, and I immediately get my old phone back."

"I was thinking the same thing," said Leo, entering the washroom and closing the door behind him. "You might want to check it to make sure he didn't tamper with your data."

"That was my first thought," said Takumi.

He checked his contacts and didn't notice anything different. No extra apps had been downloaded, no calls were made.

Opening the photo app, he noticed one new picture. Enlarging it, Takumi saw it was a picture of a note. It read "nice pics bro" in Comic Sans MS font.

 _Nice pics...? Wait, what did I have on here?_ Takumi browsed through the pictures. There was a picture of Sakura playing her _koto_ , a selfie with Hinoka, Ryoma dressed in samurai gear, and...a naked selfie of Takumi.

"Argh!" cried Takumi. _Maybe Ryoma was right about the selfie stick. I don't even need to look at my other pictures to know Zero meant this one..._

"What'd he do?" said Leo, voice muffled from being in the washroom.

"N-nothing!" Takumi felt the blood rush to his face. Leo _couldn't_ know Takumi had this picture, no matter what. _I'd never hear the end of it...and what if he doesn't find me attractive in that position?_

Leo opened the washroom door, cocking his head and raising an eyebrow.

"Your reaction says otherwise."

"Oh! Um..." Takumi glanced around the room and saw a copy of _The Metamorphosis_ on the table. "I...I just saw a cockroach, that's all."

Leo walked over and picked the book up. His expression remained the same as he looked back at Takumi.

"You should know by now that I can tell when you're lying."

"Y-yeah. Of course," said Takumi. Looking at his feet, he sighed. "I'm sorry, Leo. I just don't want to talk about it right now."

Leo took a seat in front of Takumi.

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about everything. That's how it's always been."

"I understand that." Takumi looked into Leo's eyes. Their pupils were unusually dilated, making Takumi feel even worse.

Still, Leo couldn't know about the photo.

"Thanks, but...I really don't want to talk about it. Not with you, not with anybody," said Takumi.

Leo sighed.

"Well...okay. Let's just play our game, then."

Takumi nodded and picked up his controller.

 _He's acting less persistent than usual...should I be concerned?_

* * *

That night, Takumi dreamt. He was in an airplane, staring down at a vast, grassy field. Many large red and white targets were painted in the fields.

"You have to strike all of them from here."

Takumi jumped in his spot, realising he wore a quiver and held his bow in his hands. He turned to the source of the voice.

Nobody was there.

"Um...what?" Takumi glanced back outside. He looked down and understood how high up he was. He scrambled to find a parachute, but found nothing.

"A long way down, isn't it? But you must do this without a parachute. Besides, it wouldn't be useful to wear it and a quiver, right? Nor would it be practical for wearing while shooting arrows...what if it snagged?"

Looking around again, Takumi saw nobody.

"Okay, seriously, who said that?"

"Can't you tell your own voice when you hear it? God you're pathetic."

"H-huh?!" The voice was right; it _was_ Takumi's voice. "A-are you my subconscious...or something?"

"Kind of, I suppose. I am materialization of all the misery and fear you've had throughout your life."

"Well...leave me alone! I'll do this without you!" said Takumi, Taking a bow out of the quiver and lining it up with a target.

"But if I'm part of you, and nobody else is here...who's flying the plane?"

Suddenly Takumi's head began to ache. He pressed his hands against his temples, the pain becoming more and more excruciating by the second.

A shadow of himself protruded from his forehead. Shadow Takumi grinned, his mouth full of sharp fangs.

Takumi tried to ignore it, instead looking outside. The sky was blood red and appeared to be melting. All the alarms in the plane were going off as it rapidly descended.

"I've got to get out of here!" Takumi teetered towards the edge of the plane's door and fell out. Looking at the ground, he noticed there were no more fields; only a sea of black remained.

After falling for what felt like an hour, Takumi landed bottom first on the darkness. He screamed when he realised he was slowly sinking. Attempting to push himself out, his hands got stuck.

"This...it's tar!" Takumi felt the hot tears rolling down his face.

Suddenly, the sky began to lighten. Red began to fade away, replaced by marigold, then azure. The tar began to dematerialize, though Takumi was still stuck.

Leo appeared on the horizon, riding his ebony horse towards Takumi.

"L-Leo!" shouted Takumi. "H-help me out of here!"

Continuing to ride toward Takumi, Leo grinned. He reached his hand out.

Takumi thought his heart would burst out of sheer bliss. As Leo reached him, he felt a shaking sensation. As his body shook, he felt like he was sinking deeper, deeper-

"Wake up, Takumi!"

Takumi quickly sat as he woke up, smashing his forehead into Leo's.

Leo groaned as he rubbed his forehead.

"D-damn it..."

"S-sorry," said Takumi, rubbing his own forehead.

"Don't worry about it," said Leo. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I tried to wake you and I scared you."

"But I hurt you," said Takumi.

Leo shook his head.

"We're not going to get anywhere if we argue this. I know you had a nightmare, so hurry and get into my bed."

Takumi felt his heart stop. Though he'd slept next to Leo after having a nightmare many times in the past, not once in the past year had Takumi had a nightmare around Leo.

"I-I'm not a child anymore," said Takumi, lying back down. "I don't need to sleep with you."

Leo put a hand to his face.

"You say this every time. Now, come to my bed."

"No."

"Then you leave me no other choice," said Leo. He climbed into Takumi's bed and lay next to him.

Takumi groaned as he turned away from Leo.

"I'm moving to your bed."

"If you move, you know I'll move too," said Leo. "I'm too tired to argue right now. So stay."

Takumi sighed as he lay back in bed. _Is he doing this because he feels like he has to, or...?_

"Goodnight, Takumi."

"Ah...goodnight, Leo." He rolled onto his side and looked at his friend. "Say...Why do you still let me sleep next to you? We're nineteen now, and in a few years we'll probably be living our own lives, you know?"

"You're right about that, but...don't worry about it. We're friends, after all," said Leo. He turned away and went back to sleep.

Takumi felt his heart sink.

 _Maybe Zero was right..._

As he drifted to sleep, he thought he heard a sniffle.


	2. Ego

Even after that night, Takumi still found himself unable to tell Leo how he truly felt. He had begun to wonder if it was worth the pain of holding his feelings in. Yet he believed that if he said anything, the inevitable pain of rejection would stab his body all over. The thought of losing his best friend and love at the same time was something he absolutely could not bear. Living in silent fear was better, he'd decided.

And so, when he had a second nightmare a month later, he kept his lips sealed tight. Leo had forced his way into the protesting Takumi's bed once again.

In the morning Takumi awoke to no covers and Leo's hand in his face. Pushing it out of the way, he sat and yawned.

"Good mor-" He stopped, noticing Leo's eyes were still closed as he lay facing Takumi. The bed sheets were wrapped around his body, his shoulder and the upper half of his bare chest hanging out. His mouth was slightly open; a small drop of drool rolled down his rosy cheek.

A shiver ran down Takumi's spine as he wondered how those wet lips would feel against his own. He clenched the bed sheet as he imagined kissing and sticking his tongue in Leo's mouth, their chests touching in a sweaty embrace as they grinded against each other and-

 _And it probably won't happen_ , thought Takumi. He sighed as he stretched his arms. Sliding out of bed, he picked a shirt off the ground and put it on.

He looked at the clock. 9:37am. It was a Saturday in early November; Takumi knew Leo wanted to sleep in. He walked over to the curtains and opened them slightly, peeking out. A light frost had settled, completely coating the window.

 _I shouldn't open this...is there anything I can do without being disruptive?_ Takumi shut the curtains and spied a few pamphlets on the table. He recognized them as the ones he'd received in class on the previous day. _It's still light enough in here to read if I sit close to the curtains...I guess I'll check one out._

Wandering over to the table, Takumi picked a pamphlet with _The Turing Test_ printed on the front. He slowly took a seat on the edge of Leo's bed, watching him to ensure that he wasn't disrupting his slumber.

Leo rolled over and was now facing Takumi.

Takumi felt his heart stop. He relaxed when he realised Leo's eyes were still closed, his chest continuing to rhythmically move up and down.

The Neon Genesis Evangelion intro suddenly blared. Leo's phone rumbled as it fell to the floor.

Leo's eyes shot open as he scrambled for his phone, slipping and falling to the ground in the process.

Takumi yelped. _Of course something like this would happen..._

Leo's eyes briefly met Takumi's before he picked his phone up. His eyes narrowed as he looked away from Takumi and answered.

"I was trying to sleep. This better be important." He took a seat on Takumi's bed, his eyes returning to normal as a soft murmur came from the phone. "Oh, hello sister. Good morning."

 _That sounds like Camilla,_ thought Takumi.

"Yeah, yeah I'm doing well. You? That's good to hear. What do you need? You want me to- yes, of course I'll come. Yeah, I was planning on asking Takumi if he could come anyway."

"H-Huh? What's going on?" Takumi raised an eyebrow. Leo looked at Takumi and lifted a finger to his lips before looking away again.

"Yeah, sounds good. Okay, I'll talk to you later. Goodbye." Leo hung the phone up and glanced at Takumi. He smirked. "The face you're making right now is priceless."

"I-I have good reason!" said Takumi. "What exactly are you inviting me to?"

"Camilla's having a little birthday get together in a couple weeks with Xander and Elise. She wants all of her siblings there. I need to be there, naturally."

Takumi furrowed his brow.

"Then if it's a family affair, why am I being invited?"

Leo huffed.

"Honestly, Takumi. Do you think I'd be so inviting if it were someone other than you? You may as well be family at this point."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?"

Leo opened his mouth, then closed it. His cheeks took on a crimson hue.

"It… means you're my close friend and have interacted with my family enough to be invited to events hosted by other members of my family."

"O-okay...I'm not sure I should go, though. It's not like I'd invite her to my events," said Takumi.

Leo crossed his arms.

"You don't even do anything for your birthdays, so I doubt she'd want to come anyway. If you don't want to come, just say it."

Takumi felt his heart sink. _Fine, for his sake..._

"I-I mean, yes, I will go! I wanted to come from the start! I was just..."

"...Joking," finished Leo. "Takumi, I know you weren't joking. You've been doing this rather frequently lately. What's gotten into you?"

"N-nothing!" said Takumi. "I...it's true, I'd rather not go. But I'll go, just for you. That's a promise."

Leo's expression remained incredulous, but ultimately relaxed as he nodded as he stood and walked over to the door.

"I don't understand why you've been acting like this, but...thank you."

Takumi noticed that Leo still hadn't put a shirt on.

"Going somewhere this early on a Saturday?"

"I'm pretty sure there's a house event on the day we'll be out. I'm going to Ike's room so I can let him know that we'll be away and can't make it."

"Shirtless?" Takumi snickered. "You're going to make Soren angry."

Leo quickly spun and looked back at Takumi, his face a bright scarlet.

"Q-quiet, you- hey, you're wearing my shirt!"

Takumi looked down. He blushed as he realised he wore Leo's Batman t-shirt.

A knock sounded on the door.

Leo's eyes widened.

"Of all the times...quick, give me back my shirt!"

Before Takumi could answer, Leo was directly in front of him. He grabbed the sleeves of the shirt and pulled it over Takumi's head. It got stuck in Takumi's waist-length hair.

"Damn it, you have even more hair than Camilla!"

"At least my hair is soft," said Takumi, helping Leo take the shirt off.

"...It's nice to touch, I suppose," said Leo, putting the shirt on inside-out. Face still red, he went back to the door and opened it.

Ike stood face to face with Leo, his expression stoic. He raised an eyebrow.

"...Am I interrupting something?"

Leo shook his head, his face reddening further.

"Oh, no. N-not at all! In fact, you're just who I wanted to see!"

Ike's expression remained dubious for a moment before he blinked and nodded.

"Is that so...how come?"

"You see, Takumi and I will be away on the thirtieth of this month," said Leo. "My sister's birthday is that day, and we're going to spend the night since my house is a little far from here."

"I see. Should I expect you to be out of town for Takumi's birthday two weeks later as well?"

"Oh, no, I'm not doing anything special," blurted Takumi. He walked over to Ike and bowed. "So what brings you here?"

"I'm checking to see if your heater is working," said Ike. "Soren's isn't working, and some of the other rooms I've checked are having the same problem. Give the feel of the room, I'm guessing your heater is just fine."

"Y-yeah, it is," said Takumi. "That time of year again, huh? This place could really use some upgrades."

"That it could. Thanks for letting me know about your plans and the heater," said Ike. He wandered over the next door.

Leo closed the door and began to laugh.

"Me, make Soren angry by going shirtless? You _bowed_ without a shirt on!"

"You opened the door before I could even do anything!" said Takumi. He felt his cheeks redden. "Not to mention, you're wearing the shirt inside-out!"

"What..." Leo felt the sides of his shirt and cursed. He quickly took it off and put it on properly. "W-why?! G-great... it's no wonder he thought he was interrupting something, you shirtless and me wearing something inside out...as if we were up to something like _that_."

His voice quivered as he said the last few words. Leo shook his head and chuckled as he took a seat at his computer. "Now, the newest episode of _Psycho-Pass 2_ came out a couple days ago, right? Let's watch it."

"Y-yeah, okay!" _As...if?_ Takumi pulled up a chair next to Leo. Though he enjoyed watching anime alongside Leo, he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arm around his shoulders while doing so. And to Takumi, the future probability of doing so seemed to get even lower.

* * *

On the night of the twenty-ninth of November it snowed non-stop. By the middle of the morning on the thirtieth, it had barely slowed.

Takumi shivered as he walked next to Leo, clutching his scarf. His jacket was not warm enough, though his hands sweated profusely under the two pairs of mittens he wore. The large backpack he wore was no help. He _hated_ cold weather. How Leo could do so well in such temperatures mystified Takumi. Then again, Leo disliked hot weather while Takumi thrived in it.

"S-so...remind me again, we're meeting Camilla in the parking lot behind the campus bookstore, right?"

"Yeah," said Leo. He looked to the ground as the snow blew into his face.

They walked in silence as they headed for the bookstore. A few minutes later, it was in sight.

"So...is she here yet? Or are we going to have to wait a bit?" asked Takumi.

"She'll be along shortly," said Leo. "But we can go into the bookstore if you want for a few minutes."

"I'd like that."

Approaching the store, Leo stumbled slightly.

"It's icy. Watch your step."

"I think you should be watching your step more than me, considering what's happened in the past," said Takumi. He laughed.

"Quiet, you."

A bell chimed as Leo pushed the door open. The store was almost completely empty, save for a woman standing behind the checkout counter and someone in a hoodie sitting on the floor in front of the psychology section.

Takumi's eyes wandered to the small shelf next to said section, labelled _Paranormal_.

"Looking for something about poltergeists again?" asked Leo.

Takumi blushed and looked at the ground.

"Y-yeah, that's right..." Takumi had always been ashamed of his fear of ghosts. He knew Leo never believed in ghosts, making it even worse.

"Well...I hope you can find something this time," said Leo. "Camilla said she'd text me when she's here. I'll come get you once she does."

"A-alright, I'm fine with that," said Takumi. He went over to the paranormal section and pulled a book of the shelf. It read _The Complete Poltergeist Guidebook_.

Opening the book, Takumi found that it went into detail about various poltergeists and how to ward them off. He flipped the book over; his eyes widened when he read the price.

"There's no way I can comfortably afford this." Takumi sighed as he slid the book back into its place.

"It's being sold in a college bookstore, that's to be expected," whispered a male voice.

Takumi looked to his side and cringed. The man wearing the hoodie was looking in Takumi's direction and grinning. His face was more than familiar.

"Z-Zero! What are you-"

"Shh," said Zero.

"Is something wrong, Takumi?" called Leo.

Takumi looked back at Leo and rubbed the back of his neck.

"N-no, it's just that this book is expensive. See? _The Complete Poltergeist Guidebook_." He pulled the book off the shelf and waved it in the air so Leo could see. When Leo looked away, Takumi placed the book in its original spot and turned back to Zero. He lowered his voice. "Why the hell are you here?"

"I'm looking further into something I learned in one of my classes. Why might _you_ be here?"

"Nice try, but I'm not telling you anything," hissed Takumi.

"Whatever. Bet you've been wondering where I've been all this time, huh?"

"I was going to say that it's about time you showed your ugly face again," said Takumi.

"Ugly? I'm hurt." Zero mockingly put a hand on his chest. "Anyhow, I have something I've wanted to give you for a while here."

"I don't want it."

"Sure you do. But you can't open it now. Not while Leo is here." Zero stuck his hand down his pocket and pulled a crumpled envelope out. He held it out to Takumi.

"That's even more conspicuous! I said I don't want it. You could've planted something in there."

"Shake it. You tell me if it sounds suspicious or not."

Takumi grimaced as he took the envelope. He gave it a light shake; there was what sounded like paper inside of it.

"...If this is full of glitter, I won't forgive you," said Takumi, taking his backpack off and sticking the envelope into its largest pocket.

Zero clicked his tongue.

"I should've done that. Thanks for the idea."

Takumi clenched his fists as he put the backpack back on and ignored him.

"Hey, Takumi! Camilla's almost here," said Leo. He walked up behind Takumi and tapped his shoulder.

"Thank goodness," said Takumi. He turned and began to head for the door.

"Well hello there, Leo! Long time no see," said Zero.

Leo turned to Zero and grinned.

"Good afternoon, Zero. You're right, it has been quite some time."

"I'm waiting outside," said Takumi.

"Waiting outside in the cold? I thought you didn't want to do that," said Leo.

"I-I don't, but...I don't want to interrupt your reunion," said Takumi. "Also, you said it yourself; Camilla's nearly here. We don't want to make her wait too long, do we?"

"We won't be long. Do what you please," said Leo.

"We'll just discuss poltergeists without you," said Zero.

"Good. I'm not interested right now." Takumi nodded at Leo before exiting the building.

* * *

Takumi stood outside the store, leaning next to the door.

 _Damn it, Zero...you'd better have given me something good_. He took his backpack off and pulled the envelope out.

The door opened, Leo and Zero exiting. Takumi quickly shoved the envelope back into his backpack and put it back on.

"Take care- whoa!" Leo slipped on the ice and landed on his side.

Takumi's eyes widened.

"Leo! Are you all right?" He took Leo's hand and pulled him up.

"I'm a little sore, but I'm fine," said Leo. He faced Takumi and grinned as he rubbed his side.

"That's what she said," said Zero.

"Knock it off," said Leo. "Nobody says that these days anyway."

"Fine, fine. Say, wouldn't it be tragic if someone were to accidentally cause you to slip?" Zero looked at Takumi and winked.

"My sentiments are the same as Leo's," said Takumi, averting his gaze.

"Heh, no fun. Well, this poltergeist's gotta go, so I'll see you around," said Zero.

"We'll be off too, g-goodbye!" said Takumi. He wrapped his arm around Leo's waist and led him away.

Leo frowned.

"...What are you doing?"

"I..." Takumi removed his arm from Leo. "I don't know. Trying to lead you out back and to the parking lot, I guess."

Leo pursed his lips and looked away.

The two wandered behind the bookstore and stood in the parking lot. Takumi glanced around, trying to see if Camilla had arrived.

"You seem to be in a rush, Takumi. Tell me what's wrong."

"N-no! There's nothing wrong! I..."

"Please, Takumi. How many times have I told you that you can tell me anything? Based on how you've been acting in these recent months I get the feeling that something serious is wrong. Do you not trust me?"

"No! I-I mean, yes! I do! But I can't talk about it with you," said Takumi.

"And why not?"

"B-because...it...I don't know!"

"Does it involve Zero? You seem to get even worse when he's nearby," said Leo.

"No, it doesn't! I'm..."

"Takumi. Finish your sentences."

"I would, but..." Takumi suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as he noticed Zero quickly running up behind Leo.

Leo cocked his head.

"...What's wrong now?"

Takumi tried to point, but failed as Leo slid forwards and fell on top of him. Though the backpack softened the landing somewhat, Takumi flinched as his bottom hit the ground. He looked in Zero's direction.

"D-damn it! What the hell?!" Takumi was suddenly aware of Leo lying on top of him. Their faces were inches apart. Leo's face was beet red, his eye contact unwavering. His pupils were dilated.

"I'll...talk to him later. B-but, Takumi...I only ask what's wrong because I...I care about you. Do you understand?"

"O-of course..." _Is his face red from the cold, or...?_ It _really_ wasn't like Leo to act like this. Takumi quickly glanced at Leo's lips before giving eye contact again. As he held his gaze, Takumi was slowly consumed by the urge to lean forwards and-

A honking noise sounded as a silver car rolled up next to them.

Leo pushed himself off of Takumi and stood.

"Camilla's here."

Takumi groaned as he pushed himself up. _I was so close..._

Leo entered the passenger seat and motioned towards Takumi.

"You coming?"

"Y-yeah..." Takumi opened the door to the back seat. He threw his backpack on one side, and sat on the other.

Camilla looked back at Takumi.

"Oh my. Did I interrupt something?"

"...No. Happy birthday," said Takumi. He sat and strapped a seatbelt on. _What have I done to deserve this..._

* * *

The incident remained on Takumi's mind for the rest of the day. Leo had rarely allowed himself to act so reserved, particularly after someone had challenged or wronged him in some way. He expected Leo to shout back at Zero at the very least. It wasn't uncommon for him to raise his voice and fight back with even his close friends if they'd irritated him. But he almost never acted that way towards Takumi. He and Leo might've been best friends, but Takumi could count the times Leo had angrily raised his voice at him since they became friends as children on one hand. Sure, they had their disagreements –more often than usual lately, it seemed- but it was never serious.

These were the thoughts invading Takumi's mind, even as he sat at the dining room table with Leo and the rest of his family. Camilla sat across from Takumi, while Leo was to his right and Xander to his left. Elise was supposed to sit to Xander's left, but she was nowhere to be seen. He was knocked out of his trance when he felt something enter his mouth.

"Try it out, Takumi!" Elise was beside him, wearing a yellow party hat with orange spots and holding a lemon-yellow party horn.

Takumi noticed that he had a similar party horn in his mouth.

"Mrrph!" Takumi attempted to spit the horn out, but ended up making it sound instead.

Elise clapped.

"Hooray! But you're missing the most important part!" She grabbed a blue party hat with polka dots off the table and handed it to Takumi.

"No thank you," said Takumi, taking the horn out of his mouth.

Elise cocked her head.

"Aww, why not? Everyone else is wearing one!"

Glancing around, Takumi realised it was true; Camilla wore two red party hats, positioned on her head like devil horns; Xander wore a striped blue, white, and pink one with short blue streamers protruding from its tip; even Leo was wearing a yellow and white striped hat.

"W-well, if you insist..." Takumi took the hat and strapped it on his head. _I don't understand why we have to wear these, considering that it's an adult woman's birthday party..._

"The hats were my idea!" said Elise.

"I-I see..." _Well, that explains it._

The sound of a timer went off.

"Ah!" said Camilla, standing and entering the kitchen. She opened a pot on the stove. "It's yours, Xander."

Takumi sniffed the air. He could distinguish the scent of various spices, beef, and…

"Lobster again?"

"Yeah!" Elise giggled. "He loves lobster so much! Hopefully when he gets married his wife will cook him it sometimes."

"Now, Elise, Xander won't necessarily marry a woman," said Camilla. Opening the oven, she pulled a tray out.

Xander blushed and put a hand to his face.

"I would prefer not to discuss this."

"Not to mention it's extremely heteronormative to assume that the wife would be cooking for her husband," said Takumi.

Everyone stared in Takumi's direction. He blushed.

"P-Perhaps we should do presents before we eat," said Takumi, standing and heading towards the stairs. "I'll get the one from Leo and me."

"But Takumi, our food will get cold if we do that now," said Camilla.

Takumi turned and walked back to his seat.

"We can still get it ready," said Leo.

Groaning, Takumi went back towards the stairs and ran up. He entered Leo's room and looked around. One wall was entirely a bookcase, books lined by type. The floor was carpeted, with a small chessboard pattern in the middle. It allowed one to play chess while lying on the floor; Takumi and Leo had done this several times during the three and a half years Leo had lived in his current house. Posters of various video game and anime series covered the walls, some slightly crooked while others were yellowed and slightly worn. A ceiling fan hung in the middle of the room, rotating slowly. Leo's bed was wedged in the corner between a poster wall and the wall with a window.

At the foot of the bed sat Takumi's backpack. Picking it up and placing it on the bed, he pulled his rolled up sleeping bag out. In the middle was a small cuboid wrapped in zebra-striped wrapping paper. Takumi slid it out and watched as it flopped in his hands.

 _Uh-oh…did it break when Zero shoved Leo at me?_ Takumi then remembered that beneath the wrapping paper was a copy of _The Count of Monte Cristo_. _The binding might've been ruined...but then again, it was wrapped in my sleeping bag…_

Takumi was about to put the sleeping bag back when he noticed Zero's envelope sticking out the side of the backpack. He took it out and stared at it for a minute.

 _Surely they won't mind if I'm a little late getting back to the table?_

Ripping it open, Takumi saw a handwritten note. Behind it appeared to be a picture of himself holding a bow. Taking the note, he noticed that not only was it a picture of him holding a bow, it was also a picture he had on his phone.

 _Damn it Zero!_ Takumi resisted the urge to shout. He read the note:

"Hello, Takumi. In this envelope you will find a picture that may bring you and Leo great joy, if you two were to look upon it together. As much fun as it is to see you squirm, Leo is my friend and I want him to be happy. I imagine you feel even stronger than I do about this. I've developed several pictures and placed them in here; I hope you make the right choice." The letter wasn't signed.

 _...I really hope he hasn't made more and kept them for himself_ , thought Takumi. He felt his stomach clench. Takumi glanced at the envelope in his hands, his own face peering back at him. He sighed.

 _Please don't have included_ that _picture_. He flipped through the pictures; behind the first picture was the selfie of Takumi and Hinoka, a picture of Hinoka riding her horse, a picture of his entire family dressed in cowboy hats, his naked selfie…

Again Takumi held a yelp in. _I really hope this isn't the picture he meant…_

Continuing to flip through the pictures, Takumi came across a picture of himself and Leo dressed for a con. Takumi remembered the context well; he'd bet against Leo, saying that the loser had to cosplay as whoever the winner chose. Leo had lost and subsequently was dressed as Tamaki Suoh. Takumi was dressed in kimono, his hair pulled back into a ponytail.

 _…_ _Nice, but hopefully it isn't this either. Leo would be too embarrassed._ Flipping further, Takumi finally saw the picture Zero meant: it was a selfie of Leo and Takumi. They were outside with a field behind them. Takumi held his phone that day as they pressed their shoulders together and tilted their heads so they would touch. Leo grinned, his cheeks having the slightest rosy tinge. Takumi's smile was toothy and wide.

Takumi felt his heart flutter.

"Dinner's ready, Takumi!" called Leo from downstairs.

 _Oh, right!_ Quickly stuffing the envelope and its contents back into his backpack, Takumi ran back downstairs with the present. He placed the present on the kitchen counter and walked back to his seat.

"Hope you like steak," said Camilla.

"I don't mind it," said Takumi. Save for Xander, everyone had a plate of steak in front of them. Each plate was adorned with mashed potatoes, carrots, and peas. In the middle of the table sat two punch bowls. Both bowls were an equal distance away from Takumi.

Leo took the ladle floating in the bowl closest to him and filled his cup. He took a sip and stopped halfway through holding the cup in its place as his face crumpled.

"Oh, I'm sorry Leo," said Camilla. She took some punch from the same bowl as Leo and sipped. "I forgot to mention that that one's the alcoholic one."

Leo looked back at his drink, then shrugged as he finished his sip.

Takumi felt his stomach drop. Leo almost never drank. And when he did, it was only when he was excruciatingly bothered and upset.

"...Takumi, are you alright? You just made a really pained face," said Camilla.

"Oh! Uh, y-yeah, don't worry about it." Takumi gave a nervous chuckle. Had he really made such a face? "I-I was just thinking...there's an awful lot of that alcoholic punch..."

"Well, I haven't done any drinking for quite some time," said Camilla. "I won't necessarily drink it all."

"But if she does, she can't remember anything afterwards. If you have anything to say to her, might as well do it while she's drunk," said Leo, taking another sip of the punch.

"Don't give him any ideas now," said Camilla. She turned to Takumi and winked. "He's just as forgetful as I am on the drink! But I'm sure you know that already."

Takumi nodded. Having witnessed more than one of the few times Leo was inebriated, he sincerely hoped that Leo wouldn't drink so much that he got drunk.

* * *

"Do...do I look like you yet?" slurred Leo. He looked at Camilla and held two party hats up to his chest.

"If you grow out your hair like Takumi's, you might," slurred back Camilla.

"Damn it!" Leo threw the party hats on the ground and crossed his arms.

Takumi sat at the table, face in his hands. Elise and Xander had wisely gone up to bed while Takumi was stuck downstairs with two intoxicated siblings. He began to think he should go to bed too.

Leo stumbled over to Takumi and started petting his hair.

"He does have really nice hair though."

Takumi lifted his head as he felt his face heat up. Though Leo was horribly drunk, he was surprisingly gentle. Takumi's stomach began to warm as Leo slowly touched his hair, gently stroking and running his fingers through it.

"Ooh, let me feel!" Camilla got up from her seat and walked over to Takumi. She slowly reached her hand out-

"No! He's mine! Get your own Takumi!" said Leo. He removed his hands from Takumi's hair and tightly wrapped his arms around Takumi's chest, resting his head on top of Takumi's.

 _Oh no, here we go_...Takumi was far more used to seeing Leo as an angrier drunk as opposed to a bumbling fool. He felt Leo's moist breath on his forehead as the smell of alcohol assaulted his nose.

"But there's only one Takumi," said Camilla.

"No there isn't! Japan is full of Takumis!" said Leo. "In fact, one created a bestselling video games series about lawyers and a game where you play as a cat!"

"But there's no Takumi like _our_ Takumi," said Camilla.

"Which is why I don't ever want to let him go!" He held Takumi even tighter.

Despite everything, Takumi couldn't help but feel his heart flutter a little.

"I just want to touch his hair, I won't steal him from you!" said Camilla.

"Yes you will!" said Leo.

Takumi grimaced as he felt a hot drop of water landing on his nose. He then realised where it came from.

"Leo, don't be silly," said Takumi. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes you will! You said it yourself!"

"When?"

"That night I jumped in your bed!" Leo's voice quivered as more tears landed on Takumi's forehead. "You said we'd probably be living our own lives! Which means it's likely that you'll be gone!"

"H-hey, I didn't mean anything by it...seriously, n-no need to get all melodramatic on me..." said Takumi. He had completely forgotten he'd said that. The back of his neck felt hot.

"M-melodramatic? Fuck you!" Leo sobbed as he let go of Takumi and ran upstairs.

"O-oh come on! I didn't mean..." Takumi sighed as he put his face in his hands once more. He knew from experience that when Leo was drunk it was best to let him run his course. He sat still and listened as Leo ran into his room and slammed the door shut.

After waiting a few minutes, Takumi was convinced that Leo wasn't going to leave his room any time soon.

"He really changes when he's had a few too many, doesn't he?"

Takumi then noticed Camilla was directly beside him, grinning.

"He really does. I'm just glad he doesn't drink often."

"You and me both," said Camilla. "One time he started making fun of Xander's girlfriend."

"Xander...had a girlfriend? I thought he was, you know..."

"Oh, I'm quite sure that he enjoys the company of both men and woman...but not at the same time. I think he's a little too straight-laced for that. Anyhow, they broke up ages ago."

"I-I wasn't even going to ask," said Takumi.

"No? That's a shame. It's hard to tell with Elise since she's never shown interest in anyone, but at the very least the rest of our family is the same way."

"Now _that_ I figured out on my own," said Takumi.

Camilla giggled.

"You are so clever...Leo's lucky to have a boyfriend like you."

"B-boyfriend?!" Takumi's heart stopped. His face suddenly felt like it was on fire. He turned away from Camilla. "W-we're not like that."

Camilla burst into loud, obnoxious laughter. Tears began to fall from her eyes.

"What do you mean, not like that? You hooked up years ago, didn't you?"

"W-what? No!" Takumi began to wonder if he really was that obvious. He turned back to Camilla and tried his best to glare, but found himself unable to.

Eventually Camilla stopped laughing. Her grin dropped.

"...Wait, you're serious?"

"Uh, y-yeah," said Takumi.

Camilla chuckled before yawning.

"Well, why don't you go for him? He likes you too, you know."

"Now, how do _you_ know if I'm into him or not-" Takumi's eyes widened. "Wait, what was that last thing?"

"I said he _likes_ you!" Camilla snickered. "He's never said anything to me about it. But I can tell."

"H-how?!" Takumi's heart began to beat faster.

"You know...like...he obviously was thinking about..." Camilla turned away from Takumi and stretched both of her arms out in front of her. She began to make quick thrusting motions.

Takumi stood and covered his mouth. He felt blood slowly rushing into his groin. He lowered his arms and crossed them.

"Wait, how do I know you're not teasing me? Do you have any concrete evidence?"

"I once heard him panting and moaning your name in the middle of the night, while he was in the bathroom. And you and I both know how emotionally attached he is to you. I don't know how to make it any clearer than that."

Takumi felt his mouth go dry.

Camilla laughed as she put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, did I say that out loud? Don't tell Leo I said that. He doesn't know that I know. Shhhhh..."

"Y-you don't need to worry about that..."

Camilla yawned again.

"Ahh...I think I'll go to bed. It was nice to have you here. Good luck." She kissed Takumi's forehead. And with that, Camilla went upstairs.

 _I think that's the fastest I've ever seen her end a conversation_...Takumi rubbed his hand against the spot Camilla kissed, trying to wipe it away. He looked at his hand and scowled, noticing lipstick on his palm.

Sighing, he put his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his other hand. Everything had happened so quickly that Takumi had little time to collect his thoughts.

 _So Leo thought about_ that _, huh...? I really hope Camilla was serious...if she is, then...!_ Takumi yawned. _Maybe I should go to bed after I figure this all out..._

A loud thud came from upstairs.

"Takumiiiiiii!"

 _That sounds like Leo!_ Takumi raced up the stairs and into Leo's room.

Leo lay on his stomach on the floor. He looked at Takumi with a clumsy smile. He only wore his underpants; his shirt and pants hung from the now still ceiling fan.

"Hi, Takumi. Sorry for yelling. I fell off my bed. But I'm okay, now that you're here."

Takumi stared, dumbstruck.

"Why the hell did you call out my name like that? Geez, you scared me for nothing!"

"I want you to help me up. Only you can do it."

"I-I think you could've gotten up on your own!" Takumi reached his hand out and pulled Leo up.

"Heh...now it's you who's being melodramatic," said Leo. He touched Takumi's cheek.

"No I'm not! You're the one who cried out," said Takumi. It came out much louder and high pitched than Takumi had expected. A shiver ran down his spine at Leo's touch.

Before Takumi could say anything else, Leo's lips were against his. He suddenly found himself unable to move, even as Leo slipped his tongue in. When he removed his lips, Leo smirked.

"Did you know, Takumi? I've wanted to do that for a long time."

Takumi struggled as he tried to comprehend the situation.

"But...I...huh?"

"Must I spell it out for you?

"N-no! I'm just feeling a little...uh..." What _was_ he feeling?

Leo clicked his tongue.

"If I must. I _want_ you, Takumi." He kissed Takumi's cheek.

Takumi froze in his spot. It was one thing to hear it from Camilla; it was another to hear it from Leo's own lips.

"Well, what do you think? I've wanted to take our friendship to the next level for quite some time." Leo put his hands on his hips and did a spin.

As he fumbled around and tried to figure out what he needed to say, Takumi was struck by a moment of clarity. He wanted to tell Leo he wanted him just as badly- no, he wanted to tell Leo how he truly felt. Takumi wanted nothing more than to confess his love right then and there.

But he knew Leo wouldn't remember. He _really_ wished Leo had been sober.

"And what do I want most right now?" Leo took Takumi's hand. "I want to stick my face between your thighs. And then I want to sleep next to you. I want to wrap my arms around your body and never let you go."

 _S-so Camilla must've been right_...Takumi was helpless as blood rushed to his face and groin. He looked down at Leo's underpants and noticed a rather large bulge. He slowly gazed into Leo's glossy, chestnut eyes. His rosy cheeks only served to enflame Takumi's loins even further. For a moment Takumi briefly entertained the idea of granting Leo's wish. He was hot, he was desperate, he was-

He was _drunk_.

Takumi took a step back and shook Leo's hand away. He may have wanted Leo, but he wanted a _sober_ Leo who could make proper decisions.

"No, Leo. I can't. _You_ can't. You're drunk, and we're both virgins."

Leo's eyes widened. He balled his fists as he shed a single tear.

"A-are you not interested in me? You secretly hate me, don't you?"

"W-what? No! Absolutely not!" Takumi began to feel a pain between his eyes. "Leo, I...you're one of the most important- no, you're _the_ most important person in my life. I could never hate you."

"Then why?! Don't you want me?!"

Takumi found himself unable to answer. The pain between his eyes worsened as Leo began to cry.

"So you won't let us fuck...worse yet, you won't even acknowledge me." Leo growled and turned away. "This is the worst night of my life."

Takumi clasped his hands together and looked down.

"L-look, Leo. I'm sorry."

Leo glared.

"Let me ask you: what the fuck do you expect me to do about this?" Leo pointed down at his bulging underpants.

Averting his gaze, it took all of Takumi's willpower to avoid looking at Leo.

"I-I expect you to get rid of it yourself! I'm going to sleep on the couch. Goodnight."

"What about your sleeping bag and pajamas? Or are you not going to sleep with them either?"

"T-this discussion is ridiculous. Goodnight." Takumi hurried out of Leo's room and down the stairs.

Takumi ran for the living room, hoping a pillow and a blanket would be on the end. Thankfully, both items were there. Stripping down to his underwear, Takumi unfolded the blanket and was dismayed to find it was rather thin. It wouldn't be a very warm sleep, but he was too exhausted to truly care. The entire situation had become melodramatic, and Takumi didn't want any part of it. Drunk or sober, the thought of Leo thinking Takumi hated him was just too much.

Getting himself comfortable on the couch, Takumi closed his eyes. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep as the tears streamed down his face.

* * *

The next morning, Takumi was the first to wake. It was still somewhat dark, though the light was coming in quickly. It gleamed in through the window, reflecting off of the snow outside. In his rush to sleep, Takumi failed to notice that he hadn't closed the curtains.

Sunlight in his eyes, Takumi decided to get up. Xander had said he would drive Leo and Takumi back to Tellius the next day, but since Elise had to be at school and Xander needed to be at work, they needed to leave early.

In fact, Takumi could hear some footsteps from upstairs.

Quickly getting up and putting his clothes back on, Takumi noticed as Xander and Elise walked downstairs.

"Good morning!" said Elise.

"...Yeah, good morning," said Takumi. He realised Leo hadn't followed them. "Hey, where's Leo?"

"He's pretty hungover," said Xander. "We decided to let him sleep right up until we have to go. Do you have all your things?"

"No," said Takumi. "But I didn't take anything out of my backpack last night, so whenever someone goes to wake him up they can grab the bag."

"Then since it's yours, why don't you do it?" asked Xander.

Takumi felt his stomach drop. He suddenly remembered that he still hadn't given any thought into what happened last night.

"Um...normally I would, but this time I'd rather not."

"Aw, are you fighting? Please don't fight!" said Elise.

"W-what? No! Where would you get that idea?" snapped Takumi.

The looks he got in return made him feel even worse.

"I-I mean...it's personal. I'm going to go outside." Takumi walked over to the door and took his coat off a nearby hook. He put it on and went outside.

The air was surprisingly warm; though warmth was often an illusion when it was cold and snowy out, Takumi could feel that the air was genuinely warm. So warm, in fact, that he dared to take his jacket off. He found himself surprisingly content in just a sweater.

Taking a seat on the veranda's rocking chair, Takumi looked around. The entire lawn was covered in snow. The driveway looked marginally better; a light layer of snow was on top of the two cars, one a grey beamer and the other a black van. To the right of the driveway sat a snowman and what looked like snow angels in the ground. There was a small one –Elise- and a significantly larger one –Xander? Takumi wondered if Camilla had built the snowman with Elise, then watched as her younger sister and older brother frolicked in the snow. The thought of Xander playing in the snow was enough to make Takumi chuckle.

He then remembered the time he made a snowman as a child. He thought it was poorly made, and apparently Leo thought so too; it was before Takumi and Leo became friends. Leo came and smashed the snowman, then built a new and improved one in its place. After that happened, Takumi cried for the rest of the day.

 _Man, I was such a cry-baby when I was a kid_ , thought Takumi. _But Leo and I have come so far in our relationship since then..._

The face Leo had made just before Takumi had bolted from Leo's room on the previous night reared itself into Takumi's mind.

"Last night was really weird," said Takumi. He'd remembered that Leo got incredibly drunk, claimed he never wanted to let Takumi go, how he tried to get Takumi to sleep with him-

Leo felt the same way. He was into Takumi, and he wanted his affection. That was why he acted the way he did when Zero pushed him at Takumi. That had to be why he was still okay with laying next to Takumi. He probably wanted to confess, and-

Takumi suddenly felt stupid. How had he not noticed the signs earlier? The way Leo's pupils dilated when he looked into Takumi's eyes. How his voice quivered whenever he tried to deny that he and Takumi were a couple. How concerned he had been when Takumi wouldn't tell him why he was acting so strange lately.

Leo _wanted_ Takumi. And he'd kissed him! It wasn't exactly the way Takumi had wanted it due to Leo's state of mind but nonetheless...!

"YES!" shouted Takumi. He ran out onto the lawn and jumped and danced. He shouted "Yes!" over and over.

"Hey, keep it down," came a quiet voice.

Takumi looked at the house. He noticed Camilla looking out from her window upstairs.

"Sorry!" He went back to the chair and sat.

Takumi found himself giddy at the thought of Leo wanting to touch his hair again. In his first year of high school Takumi had bent to societal pressure and cut his hair short. Secretly hoping that his peers at college would be more accepting, he'd begun to grow it out again during his second last year of high school. Now it was completely worth it.

"Well, aren't you looking excited."

Takumi yelped as he looked to his side. The front door was wide open. Leo was directly beside him, his pale face and the shadows under his eyes making him look like a vampire. "You s-scared me."

"You're scaring me too," said Leo. "Since when are you this happy at this time of day?"

"L-let's just say I had an epiphany," said Takumi.

Leo yawned as he nodded.

"You'll have to tell me about it later when I'm more awake. Say, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Did I do anything too vulgar last night?"

Takumi felt his stomach drop. Based on the expression Leo was now making, Takumi knew his face had morphed into a look of fear.

"What did I do?"

"N-nothing vulgar, I swear!"

"Then why is your face so-"

"You put two party hats up to your chest and pretended you had boobs!" blurted Takumi.

Leo's eyes widened. He sighed.

"That _is_ slightly horrifying."

Xander and Elise exited the hose and closed the door. Elise held some slices of toast in her hands; she walked up to Takumi and held them out.

"Are you hungry?"

"I am, thanks," said Takumi. He accepted the food.

"Take this, too." Xander dropped Takumi's backpack in front of him.

Takumi picked the backpack up as the four headed towards the black van. Xander and Elise sat in the front, while Leo and Takumi sat in the back.

"I'm going back to sleep," said Leo. He reached into the back of the van and pulled a pillow out. "I want to be rested. The exam period starts today, remember? I need to study thoroughly and I don't want to be distracted."

"Yep, got it," said Takumi. He swung his backpack into the place Leo had grabbed a pillow from.

"Do you mind if I lay down?"

Takumi blushed. He wondered if Leo would lay his head on his lap.

"Not at all, go ahead."

"Cool. Eat your toast." Leo took his shoes off and spun his body towards Takumi, laying his legs across Takumi's lap. He fell asleep instantly.

 _Oh. I guess that makes sense_. _He hasn't properly admitted his feelings, after all..._

Takumi knew he would use the picture Zero gave him during his confession. He knew he'd have to time it right, though, and with Leo's current state of mind and insistence on studying without distractions it looked like this time would not come immediately.

Even so, Takumi repeatedly told himself that it was a coincidence that it was unseasonably warm that day.


	3. Id

**The contents of this chapter do not necessarily match Takumi's Description in Noire Jument, Blanc Cheval, as I never planned to write another fic in the series at the time of writing.**

* * *

"C'mon," said Takumi. "The anticipation is killing me."

"For my sake, could you wait?" Leo tapped his pen against his paper. "I'd like to see your reaction without worrying about getting back to my studies."

Takumi sighed, then chuckled.

"Fine. Let's wait until you're done studying." He sat on his bed and opened his copy of _Moby Dick_. From the corner of his eye he stared at Leo.

Chewing his pen, Leo sat at his desk with a notebook laid out in front of him. His body was slightly turned, allowing Takumi to get a look at his side. He appeared to be studying something about the French Revolution. Takumi couldn't exactly make out what it was –something about the Jacobins?–, but it seemed extremely important regardless. He didn't want to focus on that; instead he noticed how Leo's eyebrows creased as he stared at his notebook. Once, long ago, Leo had wiggled those eyebrows. It made Takumi want to shriek out of both fear and excitement. It was just so uncharacteristic, so _fake,_ that everyone witnessing such an action either stared or averted their gaze, hands over their eyes.

Takumi's gaze moved to Leo's lips. Leo ran his tongue along them, leaving a small, wet trail. His tongue continued to stick out the side of his mouth as he scrawled down some notes. It made Takumi want to kiss him, then hook his arms around his waist and lead him to the bed, where he would proceed to remove Leo's top and show him just how much he _loved_ and _wanted_ him. He wanted to gaze into Leo's eyes as he slowly moved his hand down into his partner's pants, gently fondling his assets and then pressing their lips together.

Suddenly he felt blood rushing to his groin. It seemed as if the blood had left his face and headed downward.

 _Think of something else!_ Takumi glanced at Leo's violet vest. For once, it wasn't inside-out. The phrase "I only swim free" was stitched onto the side.

Takumi burst into laughter.

Leo looked at Takumi and grimaced.

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry, sorry." Takumi snorted. "It's just…I never noticed that on the side of your vest before."

"I got it done recently," said Leo.

"Ah."

A knock sounded.

"Wonder who that could be." Takumi rose from the bed and went over to the door. Upon opening it, a body slammed into him; he fell to the ground.

"Happy birthday!" shouted a familiar male voice.

"Ugh…did you have to tackle me?" Pushing himself up, Takumi groaned. He then noticed Hinata standing in front of him, a toothy grin on his face. Oboro stood next to him, holding a medium-sized wrapped box.

"My bad! I'm just excited!" said Hinata.

"Happy birthday, Takumi!" said Oboro.

Takumi smiled.

"Thanks, Oboro." He smiled. "It's been a while since I last saw you both."

"It has," said Oboro. "Are you busy?"

"No, I'm not going to study today. Was there something you wanted?"

"We have a present for you!" said Hinata. "And we hoped you'd—"

"Keep your voice down!"

Takumi looked at Leo. He faced Takumi, arms crossed.

"Oh, he's studying?" asked Oboro.

"Yeah." Takumi glanced around. "How about we discuss this outside?"

"Sure," said Oboro. "It's a cold one, bring a coat!"

* * *

In order to give Leo some quiet time, Takumi decided to go to an off-campus diner with Oboro and Hinata. The two of them wondered if Takumi would spend some time with them after not seeing him for so long. Having nothing else he particularly needed to get to during the day, Takumi agreed to a visit. They complained about exams and discussed all the recent happenings in their lives.

Now they spoke about movies.

"I'm telling you, it's this big!" said Hinata, holding his arms out.

"No it isn't! It's _this_ big." Oboro held her arms out like Hinata; a slightly smaller space was between her hands.

"Give it up, you two," said Takumi. "I'm sure it's sized decently enough."

"B-But you trust my guess more, right?" asked Oboro.

Takumi laughed. Oboro's eagerness to please Takumi had always made her the more bearable of his two friends.

"Of course."

Hinata's eyes went wide.

"Eh?! That's so unfair…"

A young woman approached the table and placed a cup of tea in front of Takumi. She winked.

"Sorry to intrude, but several replicas of the Falchion prop exist. They're of varying length, so both of you could be right. Marth had to use several different ones 'cause back when he was just starting out, Akaneia Productions was in its infancy. In order to save money, they made the film props themselves. Unfortunately they were quite crude, so many of them broke. In fact, there's even more replicas now that Chrom's following in his grandfather's footsteps."

"I thought that was a rumor. Is Chrom really that clumsy off stage?" asked Oboro.

"Indeed he is," said the woman. "Usually whatever Falchion is being used gets stuck in the ground. It usually snaps because he yanks on it, while it's in too deep to be taken out carefully."

Hinata's eyes widened as he smiled.

"Wow! You sure know a lot about the Falchion. Where'd you learn all that?"

"I've got my sources." The woman flicked her blonde hair and giggled as she walked away.

"I wish I could be an actor as cool as Marth," said Hinata.

Takumi ran a hand through his hair.

"Leo's a good actor. He looks like a blond version of Marth, too."

Oboro sighed.

"You bring this up every time we talk about actors, you know."

"Yeah? Well… those movies Chrom's in are ridiculous. He's like the George W. Bush of movies. I don't care that his lead role in _The Awakening_ made him so desirable, he's ugly."

"Of course you don't find him attractive!" Hinata laughed. "You turn a blind eye to anybody who isn't Leo."

Takumi quickly looked away.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Oboro shook her head.

"Takumi. Don't bother denying it. We know it's true."

Takumi turned back to his friends and sighed.

"Fine. I'm only saying this because I want you to stop teasing me. Yes, I love Leo. Now don't ask again."

"Huh, that was easy," said Hinata. "Something happen between you two?"

Takumi tried his best to not look like something had. He was silent.

Hinata laughed.

"But hey, if Leo rejects you, I know someone else who'd be willing to go out with—"

"A-Anyway!" Oboro pulled out the present she held earlier and placed it in front of Takumi. It was a medium-sized box wrapped in red and green striped paper.

Takumi stripped the wrapping paper off, slowly revealing a metallic, ebony box. The front of the box said 'Premium Glass Chess Set', images of the board and pieces beneath the text.

"A chess set, huh…thanks."

"Y-You're welcome!" said Oboro. "That was _my_ present!"

Hinata grinned.

"My gift to you is to buy you something!"

Takumi stared, dumbfounded.

"Shouldn't that go without saying? Anyhow, I'm surprised that you didn't get me anything." Takumi had received a comic book from Hinata during the previous year.

"What—no, no! I meant that I'll buy you something while I'm out with you!" said Hinata. "Like, say we went shopping at the comic book store, and you saw something you really wanted. I'd get it for you!"

Takumi nodded.

"I understand what you mean now. You can foot the bill for our meal now, then."

"E-Eh?! For all three of us?" Hinata blushed and looked away. "W-Well, I guess I could do that…"

"I'm sure you can afford it. I'm broke and I'm going to spend my money on ingredients for my dinner tonight anyway."

* * *

By the time Takumi finished brunch and shopping, the sun had begun its disgusting, late afternoon descent. The grocery bags he held sagged as he approached the dorm's door. He was barely able to afford the quantity of vegetables, meat, and cans of broth in the bags. The cold and weight he carried bit at his hands.

 _I hope it turns out well_ , thought Takumi. Pushing the door open, he noticed Leo sitting on his bed. Part of his comforter was wrapped around his shoulders. Suddenly Takumi noticed the room wasn't as warm as usual.

"Welcome back," said Leo. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"I'd say so. But man, it's cold out," said Takumi. He took a step forward—

One of the bags he held tore open, sending several cans of broth rolling. His chess set fell to the ground.

"Aw, shit." Takumi placed his bags down and went to pick one of the cans up.

"Quick, close the door!" said Leo. A look of concern was on his face as his eyes widened.

"Huh?" Takumi abandoned his pursuit and closed the door. "Is something wrong?"

"While you were gone…" Leo stood and walked over to the heater. He motioned to it. "…This stopped working."

Takumi shook his head as he collected the cans. "Damn it. I guess it was bound to happen at some point. Did Ike say when all the heaters would come back on?"

"It's on a room-by-room basis," said Leo. "Though a crew came and fixed all the heaters that went down a few weeks ago, that's not how it usually works. Normally you have to file an online request; I've already filled one out, and someone should be over tomorrow morning."

Takumi nodded.

"Ugh. I'm not looking forward to sleeping tonight." He moved to put the cans on a shelf. "Are you done studying?"

"Not quite. I'm taking a break," said Leo.

"That's good. You've been working hard this semester, haven't you?"

Leo's face reddened slightly; he took a slow step towards Takumi.

"I always work hard, and you know it, but…I'm glad you noticed."

Takumi felt his heart beat a little faster.

"How could I not notice? It's obvious."

"Of course it is," said Leo, taking another step.

For a room that had a broken heater, it sure was warm. Or was it just Takumi?

"Y-You are such an ass."

Leo was now inches away from Takumi.

"Takes one to know one. I don't care."

Leo was so close that Takumi could feel his breath on his face. Their eyes were now locked.

"Prove it."

Leo smirked.

"Just watch me." He walked past Takumi.

… _H-Huh?_ Takumi felt a rapidly growing pain in his stomach. Was Leo trying to tease him, or…?

"Hey, is this what Oboro and Hinata gave you?"

Turning to look in Leo's direction, Takumi's stomach dropped. Leo stood at the door, holding the chess set that Oboro had given Takumi earlier; he'd completely forgotten that it landed on the floor.

"It _was_. Probably shattered into a thousand pieces when it fell out."

Leo opened the box and showed it to Takumi. The pieces were intact.

"Seems fine to me," said Leo. "Let's play it later."

So it didn't break after all. A fluttery feeling was in Takumi's stomach. It'd been a while since the two of them played a strategy game together.

"Y-Yeah…let's."

Placing the game on Takumi's bed, Leo went over to his own bed and reached under. He pulled out a rectangular object wrapped in violet paper.

"What's that?" asked Takumi.

"What do you think it is?" Leo smirked as he handed the gift to Takumi. "Happy birthday."

"Oh! Uh…" Takumi felt warmth enter his cheeks. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Leo's face was red once again. "It's…nothing too big. But I thought you'd like it."

He tore the paper off. A weighty, maroon book sat in his hands; sewn on the front was _The Complete Poltergeist Guidebook_. It was the same copy that he'd seen at the bookstore mere weeks ago. The price tag was gone, but Takumi remembered exactly how expensive it was.

"W-What do you think?" Leo was still. Was he actually anticipating Takumi's response? Didn't he know Takumi would approve?

"I love…" Takumi stopped. Confessing his feelings right here and now suddenly crossed his mind. This seemed like an opportune time. Could Leo be waiting for something? He sure _looked_ the part. _Do it. Do it. Do it._ Takumi realized he was shaking; at that moment, his legs felt like they would collapse. He looked Leo in the eyes.

Leo stared with wide eyes, mouth curled into a half-smile, face blazing scarlet. He crossed his fingers together, holding them against his waist.

"I-I love…it." Fuck.

Leo's half-formed smile fell, eyes back to their usual state. His arms dropped as he weakly whispered, "Oh."

Takumi immediately regretted his decision at the sight of Leo's face. Could Leo tell that Takumi wanted to admit his feelings?

"I, uh, really appreciate it, Leo. That you would buy me this, despite the price and your own disbelief…"

Leo looked to his feet. "I'm…glad you like it. You were looking at it in the store, and…"

"I love it," Takumi repeated. "You don't look very happy. Did I upset you somehow?"

Leo shook his head. "…It's nothing."

Takumi shook his head as he placed his book down. He didn't want to deal with this, not right now. Gathering his groceries and taking a large stock pot, Takumi headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Leo, not looking at Takumi.

"Soup making. I'll be back in a bit," said Takumi as he opened the door.

* * *

Dropping several chopped peppers into the pot, Takumi began to stir his creation. A mixture of assorted vegetables and beef seemed to be an appropriate soup for the occasion, despite the prior situation. This was his birthday and he was going to enjoy himself regardless.

Even so, it was difficult to keep his mind off of Leo.

"What am I going to do…?" Takumi whispered to himself. He knew he ought to have confessed to Leo right there. But he couldn't help it. It felt…inappropriate to do so at the time, somehow.

He went through various cycles of stirring the soup, stopping, then stirring again; before long, the soup was ready. Takumi lifted his ladle and took a small sip.

"Good evening," a voice said.

Cringing, Takumi dropped the ladle. It landed back into the soup, sending splotches onto Takumi's face. The pot tipped slightly; some of the contents spilled and landed on the front of his shirt. "Shit!" His hands and chest felt like they were on fire as he quickly pushed the pot back upright. He ran to the sink and quickly splashed water on his hands and face.

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to see what you were up to." Ike wandered over to Takumi.

"W-When did you get here? I'm just cooking," said Takumi. "It's my birthday."

Ike nodded.

"I just got here. Happy birthday." He looked over at the pot. "It smells good …you've got quite a lot in that pot, don't you?"

"Yep," said Takumi, turning to face Ike. "I want to save most of it for tomorrow or some other time in the near future. It'll save having to go out in the cold to the cafeteria."

"Makes sense," said Ike. "Your shirt looks like it wants to stay in from the cold, too."

Takumi looked down at his shirt. It was covered in broth and vegetable chunks. "Damn it! This is my favourite shirt!" He pat the patch where the soup had spilled.

Ike shook his head.

"Unfortunately, it's going to have to stay like that for some time, unless you make your way to another residence. I returned from the laundry room not too long ago. Some students were doing an experiment in the laundry room earlier, and…well, three of the washing machines stopped working, and another one was completely destroyed. We won't be able to get repairs or a replacement until tomorrow."

"….You've gotta be kidding me," said Takumi. He leaned back against the counter. "Unbelievable. Broken heaters and broken washing machines. This place really is falling apart."

"That it is. I think I'm going to talk to someone about an upgrade sooner rather than later."

"I like that idea." Takumi touched his shirt once more and grimaced. "Whatever. I'll just wash and wring this out later in the bathroom."

The scent of boiling beef and onions lingered in the air as Takumi took the ladle to taste the soup again.

"You know, that soup smells like beef," said Ike.

"It is," said Takumi. He then remembered hearing about Ike's love of meat. There _was_ a lot of soup... "Would you like some of it?"

Ike smiled. "Please."

Takumi scooped some of the soup into a nearby bowl. Taking a spoon, he placed it in the bowl and handed it to Ike.

"Thank you." Ike took a seat at a nearby table. He grinned after taking a sip. "This meal is like what I ate when I first took Soren out."

 _Soren? Wait a minute_...Takumi knew Soren as one of Leo's rivals in DnD. He was one of Ike's closest companions, and they'd known each other for a long time. If Takumi remembered correctly, Soren was also Ike's boyfriend. He took a seat in front of Ike.

"Say, uh…I know this is sudden, but you are together with Soren, right?"

Ike put his spoon down and stared. "Yes. Did you forget?"

"No, no! I just…" Takumi noticed how sweaty his palms were. "I…I need some help. I've never confessed to a man before, and…"

Ike raised an eyebrow.

"You mean to tell me that you and Leo aren't together?"

Takumi brought a hand to his face. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because you might as well be together. I've noticed the way you look at each other during house meetings. I…thought I walked in on…that one time…"

Takumi knew his cheeks must've changed colour. "N-Nope, that was innocent."

Ike shot an incredulous look before taking another slurp of his soup.

Takumi hesitated before giving a quiet laugh. "Alright. You got me. It's Leo who I want to confess to, you see. I know you and Soren have been together for a long time, so…I was hoping you might have some advice for me…?"

"Oh…" Ike looked away, his face slightly pink. "If you're asking how Soren and I…got together, I don't think it'll work for you. I don't want to discuss that with you."

"O-Oh…" _There goes that plan…_

Ike dropped his spoon and stood.

"But I've got a suggestion. Just do it! Confess to him right there and then."

Takumi's attention snapped back to Ike. "H-Huh?"

"Just do it! Make your dreams come true!"

Takumi stood and took a step back. "N-Now hold on a moment…you don't even know what my situation is! You see, I had a picture I wanted to show, but…I-I mean, just doing it could work, considering that I'm fairly certain that he likes me back, but…well, um…"

"He likes you _back_? Where is your excuse, then?"

"But…I…" Takumi tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. It was true that Leo had hit on him in a drunken stupor and that Takumi was almost completely certain of Leo's feelings. But there was a tiny, _tiny_ part of Takumi that still felt anxious. Leo was a man of action; why hadn't he confessed yet? And then there was the matter of Leo's exams. Takumi waited for an opportunity to tell him; yet, Leo still had one last exam in a few days. Admitting an attraction could either completely distract or help Leo in his study efforts.

The face Leo made after Takumi prevented himself from confessing reared into his mind. His stomach ached; it was unusual to see Leo act the way he did. It reminded Takumi of when Niles shoved Leo into him. And both times, there was something in that face Takumi couldn't quite figure out. Some sort of…expectation? Longing? Whatever it was, Takumi felt a tug in his chest. He didn't want to see that face again.

Not unless he could hold and kiss that face, anyway.

Confidence entered Takumi, coexisting with fear. There really was little room for doubt. Perhaps Ike's suggestion was worth a shot. The exam was still a few days away, anyhow.

"Well?"

Ike's voice brought Takumi back to reality.

"Er…yeah… Ike, I think you might be right. I should just do it." _Damn, that was lame…_

Ike smacked his fist into his palm. "Do it!"

Takumi put his hands on his hips and grinned. He looked Ike in the eye.

"I'm going to do it! Right now!"

Ike raised his hands and clenched his fists.

"Don't let your dreams be dreams!"

Takumi copied Ike. "Yeah! Thanks, Ike. I'm feeling a lot more confident now."

"Don't thank me, thank good old Shia," said Ike.

Takumi snorted as he walked over to the pot and put its lid on. He took the pot by its handles and stumbled backwards.

"Do you want a hand with that?" asked Ike.

"No, I got it," said Takumi, steadying himself and heading for the door. "I've done this many times before."

Ike went over and held the door open. "If you're sure. Good luck with Leo."

* * *

The door was unlocked, thankfully. Careful to place and pick up the pot again, Takumi entered the room.

Leo's back was turned. He was at his computer, the credits for an episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure on the screen. His notebook was open on the table next to him.

This was it. Leo only ever watched anime when he was taking a break. Takumi gently put the pot between the beds and moved towards Leo.

"Leo, I—"

"Shut the door." His tone was sharp.

Takumi groaned as he went over to the door and closed it. _Hmm…so much for just doing it._

No response came from Leo.

Leaning against the door, Takumi signed. "You're awful moody tonight."

Leo took an earbud out of his ear. "Sorry, what?"

"H-How'd you notice me come in if you've got those in? I said, you're in a bad mood tonight!"

Still facing his computer, Leo rubbed his eyes. "I heard your voice, just not clearly. And…today's been kind of stressful for me. I don't think I'm going to study any more tonight, I can't focus."

Maybe waiting to confess was better after all. Fear now overcame confidence; it was time to think of something else.

"You're forgiven," said Takumi. "I, uh…hope you're hungry, 'cause I brought a lot of soup. I'll put some out on the table for you, if you'd like."

Leo nodded. "I would appreciate that."

"Got it."

Takumi went over to the cupboard and took out an ironing board, setting it up in front of the beds. Two bowls followed; Takumi filled both with soup and placed them on the board. He pulled a stool up to its side. "Okay, just wheel on over and it's ready."

Leo spun in his chair to face Takumi. His eyes were slightly red. "Thanks—hey, did you get some on your shirt?"

"I— damn." Takumi took his shirt off and threw it aside.

"…You've got quite the aim."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

Takumi glanced at Leo; his shirt had landed on Leo's head. He put a hand over his mouth and began to snort. It didn't take long for Takumi to burst into laughter.

"Oh, come on! It's not _that_ funny!" Leo's face was tomato-red as he took the shirt off his face.

Takumi continued to snicker as he went to take the shirt from Leo. Amused as he was, he recognized that doing so probably wouldn't earn him any favors. "Sorry. Let me get that for you."

"Unless, of course, you were aiming for me in the first place." Leo held the shirt out.

"Not this time," said Takumi. He shivered as he took the shirt; his fingers lightly brushed against Leo's hand.

"…Anyway." Leo scooted past Takumi in his chair and pulled up to the ironing board.

Before he went towards the board, Takumi noticed the notebook on Leo's desk. The pages appeared to be wet; small, slightly darker areas were all over the page, smudging some of the writing. In combination with those red eyes he noticed earlier…

Takumi's joy was instantly replaced with concern. Moving his stool, Takumi sat next to Leo. He placed his hand on Leo's shoulder. "You've been crying, haven't you? Tell me what's wrong."

Leo's eyes widened; he shook his head. "Nothing."

"Is this related to what happened earlier?"

Leo moved Takumi's hand. "I-I told you, it's nothing."

"You're lying. How many times have I seen you cry in the past year? Once, maybe twice? You only cry when there's a problem!"

"There isn't a problem." Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. "Leave it alone."

"Tell me!"

"N-No! Stop yelling!" cried Leo. He looked away. "There's no reason I should tell you. Not when you've failed to tell me about your issues lately."

"But Leo, I…you know I care about you, just like you care about me."

"Yeah? Well, tell me your problems, and I'll tell you mine! Why must you be like this, Takumi?"

"It's because I—" Takumi stopped himself. It was like déjà vu; once again Takumi was filled with the desire to confess to Leo on the spot. But it wasn't going to happen, not while they were arguing.

Leo looked Takumi in the eye. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

It physically pained Takumi to do so, but he decided not to press further.

"I…Fine. If that's how you feel, it can't be helped. I don't want to argue with you any more, Leo. " He took his stool and moved to the other side of the ironing board, sitting in front of his soup bowl.

"Good. I don't want to argue either." Leo rubbed his eyes again. "Now do you understand how I've felt these past few months?"

Takumi felt his stomach drop. Was this really how Leo felt?

"I…I think so. I'm sorry for upsetting you."

Leo pursed his lips. "…You don't have to apologize. Like I said, I'm stressed today. Let's eat."

They sat in silence as they ate. Takumi could hardly keep the soup down as he tried – and failed – to keep his mind off of what just happened. Why did it end up like this? Takumi wanted to enjoy the rest of his birthday; arguing with Leo was a step in the wrong direction.

Maybe Leo wouldn't be so upset the whole time. He moved his eyes to Leo's face. It was stony, hardly moving as he devoured his meal. It was such a deep concentration that, despite everything, Takumi felt himself smiling.

Leo stopped mid slurp and raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about how you look when you're concentrating." He laughed weakly. "I like it."

"…Okay then." Leo finished his slurp.

"Uh…never mind that." Takumi felts his cheeks warm slightly. Searching for another topic, he remembered his chess set. "Hey, remember when you said we should play chess earlier? Let's play when we're done eating."

"…Sure," said Leo. He raised his spoon to his mouth. Stopping before putting it in his mouth, he gazed at Takumi. His face was slightly pink.

"Y-Your face…what's with it?" asked Takumi. Before he could stop himself he said, "Don't tell me…are you checking me out?"

"W-What? That's…if we're going to talk about embarrassing things, I think you forgot you weren't wearing a shirt. Why don't you put another shirt on?"

"Wha—" Takumi realized he was still shirtless. "…I don't feel like it. I'll put one on when I get cold."

Leo chuckled. "Alright then."

Takumi felt his chest warm. Leo hadn't exactly denied checking him out.

* * *

After they finished eating, Leo offered to wash the bowls out.

"Go for it," said Takumi. "I'll put the soup away, then get my chess and set it up. Are we playing on the table or the floor?"

Leo grinned as he pat the ironing board. "I think the floor would be good today. We really need to get a proper table at some point."

"Hey, it's served us well over the years, hasn't it? I'm broke; if you want something nicer, you should buy it yourself."

"I haven't got much more money than you do…I guess the board works fine," said Leo. He took the bowls and walked over to the bathroom.

"Alright, time to save this for later." Takumi lifted the pot and headed for the fridge.

Leo called from the washroom. "I'm glad there's still plenty of soup for later. It's going to be pretty cold for most of the week."

"Yeah— whoa!" Takumi stumbled over the stool, knocking the ironing board over in the process. Quickly maneuvering his body towards his bed, he let go of the pot. The sound of the pot opening and soup sloshing out made Takumi's heart stop. "Oh no…"

"Are you alright out there?" Leo left the washroom and helped Takumi up.

"I'm fine," said Takumi, averting his gaze from the bed. "But…look at my bed and tell me what you see. I don't want to look."

"It…looks like you've got some laundry to do," said Leo. "Guess we won't be eating any more soup in the next few days."

Takumi slowly looked at the bed. The pillows, sheets, and blankets were soaked in soup.

"God _damn_ it!" Takumi shoved the pot to the side and yanked the sheets and blankets off his bed. He dragged them into the bathroom and threw them in the bathtub, running hot water over them. Wringing them with all his might, barely any of the soup was coming out. No matter how much he tried, there was too much to completely remove.

Leo came to his side.

"You've been in here for a few minutes. What are you doing? The bath's good for getting rid of some of the meat, but go throw them in the wash."

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

Takumi explained what Ike told him earlier.

"Shoot. Of all the days…"

"You've got that right. I guess I'll have to wait." Takumi sighed as he threw his sheets over the shower railing. "It's too cold out. Not that I know anyone who'd be kind enough to let me in another residence anyway."

"Takumi…"

"I'll bet the mattress is soaked in soup too. I can't believe this." He sighed deeply. "This sucks."

"Hmm…" Leo wrapped his arm around Takumi's shoulder and led him back into the main room. "…You're going to hate this, but the best way to keep warm tonight is to sleep together. It's going to be even colder than it is now later. Regardless of whether the sheets are wet or not, sharing a bed is the best way to retain heat."

Takumi's heart began to beat faster. There was _no way_ he would hate sharing a bed with Leo anymore, not after everything that had happened. Having wet sheets suddenly didn't seem so bad.

"I set our game up while you were in the bathroom, by the way."

"Ah…" Takumi took a seat on the ground, next to the chessboard. "Thanks for that."

"No worries." Leo wrapped his comforter around himself and took a seat on the other side.

"Black as usual, huh?"

"You sat by the white side. I had no choice in the matter." Leo winked.

Takumi smiled.

"True. Alright, let's get this started!" He moved one of his pawns forward by one space.

Leo responded by moving one of his knights out.

"You know, I think I was hungry," said Leo. "I feel a lot better now."

"I'm glad." _So he_ is _feeling better, huh_ …

"You've got quite the grin on your face right now," said Leo. He took his phone out of his pocket. The sound of a camera shutter went off.

"H-Huh?"

"Look."

Leo turned his phone around and showed Takumi the picture. His smile was wide and his face was red.

"Ew, delete that!"

"No way."

It was then that Takumi realized he still had the pictures Niles gave him. They were under his bed, sitting untouched for the past couple of weeks. Trying to keep his mind off of confessing to Leo during the exam period had caused Takumi to completely forget about them. Even when Ike gave his advice, they failed to cross his mind. He'd been too caught up in the moment, he supposed. It would be nice to use the picture, since he already had it.

Perhaps a confession _could_ come at some point that night after all.

"Uh, Takumi? You look like you're just staring into space. It's your move."

"I'll do it!" shouted Takumi before registering what Leo said. "I mean, I'll make my move. Just a minute."

Throughout the game, Takumi considered the timing of his confession once again. Leo didn't seem as irritable as he was earlier, and there would be no more studying today. Confidence was overcoming fear yet again. Surely Leo wouldn't deny him the privilege to share beds afterwards, not when it was cold out. The best thing to do was to catch Leo while he was still feeling somewhat affable.

After the game would be a good choice, Takumi thought.

Leo moved his rook two horizontal spaces, placing it six spaces vertically from Takumi's king.

"Check."

Takumi moved one of his bishops directly in front of Leo's rook.

"Really, Takumi? Check." Leo tapped the bishop with his rook and took it off the board. "Unbelievable. You could've taken my rook out with your other bishop, you know."

"If I could've done that, then you failed to consider that yourself at first."

Leo blushed before shaking his head.

"I-It's been a while since I played chess! Anyway, you're way better than this. You seem, I don't know…distracted."

"D-Do I?" No, his feelings had to wait. While trying to think of an excuse, Takumi noticed how cool the air in the room had gotten. "Well, uh…I'll admit I'm feeling cold." He moved to get a shirt.

"Don't," said Leo.

Takumi stopped and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, don't? You're the one who said I should put another shirt on."

"T-That's true, but…I don't think it will keep you warm enough." Leo moved part of his comforter aside. "Come sit with me. Wrapping my blanket around yourself and being next to me will make you warm fast."

Takumi dashed to Leo's side and sat. He wrapped the comforter around himself and moved as close to Leo as he thought acceptable, brushing his knee against him.

"Wow," said Leo. "You acted rather quickly."

"W-Well…I really am cold. I want to warm up as soon as possible."

"…Are you sure you're cold? You feel extremely hot to me."

"H-Huh?" Takumi touched his leg; it was, in fact, quite warm. "I guess I'm cold on the inside."

"Oh, you're cold on the outside alright." Leo smirked. "Just not physically."

"Shut up," said Takumi.

They proceeded further into the game. Takumi continued to make poor mistakes in anticipation of finally – finally! – making a proper, calculated attempt at telling Leo how he felt. Being right next to him wasn't helping; though it was difficult to tell whether it was being with Leo or because of how intense the body heat was, Takumi felt extremely hot.

Soon, only a few pieces were left on the board; aside from their kings, Takumi's knight, bishop, and rook remained, along with Leo's queen.

"Despite all your follies, looks like I'm in a bit of a pinch here," said Leo. He moved his queen to Takumi's rook and took it off the board.

Takumi pat Leo's shoulder.

"It's time for the bishop's revenge!" He moved his remaining bishop and knocked Leo's queen over. "There's nowhere for your king to go! CheckMATE!"

Leo stared at the board. "Wow, Takumi. I wouldn't have expected this, given how you've been…"

"You're right," said Takumi. "I didn't do as well as I usually do this game. But Leo, you're a chess master…I find it hard to believe you'd let this happen.

"Well…" Leo blushed. "…If I said I wasn't giving it all I could, I'd be lying. I think I was a little distracted myself. Still, it was nice to play after not having done so in a while. Even if we screwed it up…good game, Takumi." His eyes met Takumi's as he smiled.

Takumi grinned back. With a face like that, there was no way he couldn't confess to Leo. For so long, Takumi had anticipated this moment. The game was over and Leo still appeared to be relaxed; it was time. He took a deep breath.

"Okay, Leo. I admit it. Something's been on my mind."

Leo's smile fell. Not into a frown, but into a look of interest. "Oh?"

"Yeah." He leaned over and stuck his hand beneath his bed, searching for Niles's pictures. Feeling the thin package, Takumi pulled the envelope out. "There's something I want to show you."

"What is it?" Leo reached for the envelope.

"Don't touch!" Takumi smacked Leo's hand away. "There's some things in here that you aren't allowed to see. Not yet, anyway."

Leo clicked his tongue. "What could possibly be in there that you don't want me to see…?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Takumi sifted through the pictures, ensuring that he didn't accidentally pull out the wrong one. Knowing that his naked selfie lay within, he searched with extreme caution.

Finally, the picture he was looking for showed itself.

Takumi handed Leo the picture. "Do you remember this picture?"

Leo's expression softened.

"Why wouldn't I? It's one of my favourites." Leo scratched his head. "But why are you showing this to me?"

One of his favourites. Perfect. Takumi put his hand on Leo's leg.

"I was…I was thinking about us. About how close we are. And how I want us to remain this close as long as possible."

Leo gave the picture back to Takumi. He looked away.

"…I wish it were possible, Takumi. I really do."

Uh oh.

"…What are you suggesting?"

"These days…" Leo swallowed. "They can't last forever."

"I-I didn't say forever." Takumi removed his hand from Leo. "B-But…"

"Then what do you mean?" Leo shook his head.

Takumi felt a familiar, crushing pain. It was like he'd been stabbed in the chest with an icicle. He felt like his heart was literally going to break. _No. No. No._ This wasn't how it was supposed to turn out.

"I feel like we've been fighting a lot lately. I don't want to fight anymore, Takumi. If we continue in this direction, our parting will probably be much sooner—"

"We can patch things up!"

"Sure we can, if there's a will. But we're going to have to drift apart eventually."

"Are you suggesting I have no will to reconcile?" Takumi crossed his arms. "I would love to reconcile, but you're not letting me! Don't talk about drifting apart so quickly, as if we only met months ago! You're not taking this seriously!"

"Believe me, I'm taking this quite seriously."

"No you're not!"

Leo balled his fists.

"Takumi, we're going to have full-time jobs eventually. Though similar, our career paths are different. The chances of us living near each other are highly unli—"

"So what? This is the age of the internet, we'll keep in contact!"

"Of course we'll keep in contact," said Leo. He threw the comforter, taking it off himself and Takumi. "You're my friend, Takumi. My best friend. You of all people should be supportive of me, wherever life takes me!"

"Of course I support you!" cried Takumi. "But I don't want to do it from afar, I want to do it by your side!"

"Then you're wasting your time." Leo stood and walked towards the door.

"I don't care, I want you close to me no matter what!"

"W-Why are you so insistent on being near me?" Leo leaned on the door.

"Because I love you!"

Staring at Takumi with wide eyes, Leo's mouth hung open. His face was the reddest Takumi had ever seen it.

"You _what_?"

It was Leo's face that made Takumi realize what he just said.

 _Oh…oh…no…_ Takumi gasped as he felt his heart stop; he put his hands over his mouth. After all this time, all this worry and planning, it slid right out; during an argument, no less! He wanted to run away as far as possible, to curl up and sob until he couldn't move anymore. Takumi's vision blurred as tears began to fall.

Pain shot through Takumi's body. Regardless of how he felt, there was no turning back now.

"I-I said, I l-love you!"

Leo moved away from the door. Taking slow steps towards Takumi, Leo closed his eyes. When he reached Takumi, they opened again. "You…love me…as a friend, right?"

Takumi brought himself to his feet and put his hands on Leo's shoulders.

"No! You don't understand! I'm _in_ love with you! Being just friends isn't enough for me!"

Leo continued to stare. A tear rolled down his cheek as he looked away.

"B-But…why, Takumi? There are far better suitors out there than me."

"I don't believe that." Takumi moved one of his hands and touched Leo's cheek. "You're the only one for me, Leo!"

"But I'm an asshole," said Leo. "I used to harass you when we were younger. I'm a stuffy know-it-all. I'm a liar. I hang out with an undesirable crowd. I…I'm sure there's plenty of other reasons you wouldn't want me."

"Keep coming up with reasons as much as you want, Leo, but that's not going to change anything." Takumi ran his fingers through Leo's hair. "Nobody understands me like you do, and nobody understands you like I do! Isn't that reason enough? I want to be next to you for all these years to come!"

Leo brought his gaze to Takumi's. He looked as if he were about to burst into tears.

"Is this why you've been so unwilling to tell me some things lately?"

Takumi kissed Leo's forehead.

"Yes, Leo." Takumi found himself momentarily staring at Leo's lips before turning his attention to Leo's eyes. "All those things, from Niles doing something to my phone and beyond…were related to my feelings for you."

Leo began to sob.

"T-Takumi…" Leo pulled him close, into a hug. He stroked Takumi's still-shirtless back. "Oh, Takumi…I-I don't know how to say this, but…I love you too. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. To have these feelings reciprocated all this time…what have I done to deserve having someone like you in my life?"

"I could say the same thing," said Takumi. He held Leo even closer, hoping he could feel the love in his embrace. "God, Leo. I love you. I love you more than anyone else."

"Y-You don't seem all that surprised," said Leo. "Why…?"

Takumi pressed his hands into Leo's upper back.

"O-On Camilla's birthday…you told me you loved me. You were drunk, and…I couldn't bring myself to tell you how I felt. Exams were coming up, and…I didn't want to put any more stress on you than necessary."

Leo let Takumi go. A mortified look was on his face, though it was soon replaced with laughter. "Trust me, Takumi, telling me your feeling has lifted a huge burden off my shoulders. I wish I could've told you my feelings for the first time without being intoxicated, but…I guess there's no helping it."

"That reminds me," said Takumi. "I'm a bit surprised that you didn't try confessing to me first. While sober, I mean."

"Trust me, I had good reason for that." Leo embraced Takumi once more, burying his face into the crook of his neck. "Despite it all, you're still my best friend. I didn't want to lose that. To be perfectly honest…I picked up the signs of your attraction. But I wasn't certain. I was…afraid."

"But there's no reason to be afraid now," said Takumi. "Both of us know now. I've wanted to confess to you for a long time, Leo."

"Same to you." Leo raised his head and gazed into Takumi's eyes.

Takumi leaned up, lightly bringing his lips to Leo's. Leo pressed his mouth against Takumi's, forcing a harder kiss. Leo's lips were tender and soft; Takumi didn't want to stop feeling them any time soon. It didn't take long for him to slide his tongue into Leo's mouth.

Leo moaned as he responded with his own tongue.

The sensation of tongue against tongue caused Takumi to squeak.

Leo removed his lips and grinned.

"Ah, Takumi…how long has it been since I wanted to do that to you? I can't say."

"Mhmm." Takumi reached down and grabbed the envelope full of pictures. He took a seat on Leo's bed. "Would you like to look at these?"

"If there's any more of you, then absolutely." Leo sat next to Takumi, leaning against his shoulder.

The first picture Takumi pulled out was of Takumi showing off his bow.

"I can't believe I get to rub those muscles," said Leo.

Takumi laughed as he pulled another picture out. It was of Hinoka on her horse, Takumi falling off the back.

"…That's an embarrassing one," said Takumi.

"It's not too bad," said Leo. "But whatever you do, don't show Camilla that one."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because your sister is her type," said Leo. "If she saw that, she'd beg you to introduce her to her."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey, what's that picture poking out?"

Takumi looked at the envelope and noticed the corner of one picture sticking out above the others. He pulled it out and – lo and behold – it was the fucking naked selfie.

"Aw, geez!" Takumi cover his face with his hand. "Of all the pictures…I swear this picture is going to haunt me forever."

Leo kissed Takumi's cheek.

"I like it. If you don't want it, I think I'd like to keep it." He took the picture out of Takumi's hands and placed it to the side.

"Go ahead," said Takumi.

Leo began to stroke Takumi's hair.

"Say…I'd love to see you in that position."

"R-Really…?" Takumi felt the blood rush to his groin.

"Right now, preferably." Leo kissed Takumi and began to stroke the front of his pants.

Takumi felt his erection grow larger by the second. "D-Don't you want to remove my pants first?"

"More than anything. I wanted to ensure that you were okay with it first, though."

Takumi could've squealed with delight. To finally experience Leo's touch – and to allow Leo to do what he wanted to do that night at Camilla's party, except fully sober – aroused Takumi even further.

"Please," said Takumi. "I _want_ you, Leo. I've never wanted anything more than this in my life."

Leo chuckled. "Prepare yourself."

Within moments, Takumi's pants and undergarments were on the floor. Takumi lay back, stretching his body out for Leo to get a full glimpse.

Leo smirked as he tapped the tip of Takumi's shaft. "You look tastier than a tomato," said Leo. He leaned down—

"Wait!" Takumi sat. "We need protection! Ike gave me some condoms at the start of the semester…I think they're under my bed."

"Right." Leo stood went over to Takumi's bed. He reached under and pulled a condom out. "You keep a lot of stuff under there, don't you?"

"Where else am I going to keep some of my stuff?"

Takumi waited as Leo unwrapped the condom. "I really hope it fits."

Leo slowly pulled the condom over Takumi's member. It didn't quite reach its base.

"A bit small, but big enough for me to do what I'd like."

Soon Leo's mouth was around Takumi's cock. As Leo's tongue moved up and down, Takumi's thoughts remained solely on Leo. It was hard to believe that this was actually happening. Yet, it was undeniable that it was. The sensations were far too real, too concrete. Within Leo's gentle movements, Takumi felt a true passion, an unbridled desire; the culmination of everything of Takumi wanted. Here was Leo, as in love with Takumi as ever and unafraid to show it.

First, Takumi felt himself arch. And then—the sweet release of climax. Waves of pleasure rolled through Takumi's body, causing him to breathe deeply.

The removal of the condom tickled.

"So, how was that?" asked Leo, holding the used condom.

Takumi sat and grinned.

"It was amazing. I felt…incredible."

"That's good."

A second later, Takumi noticed Leo's own erection. "Hey, do you want some help with that?"

Leo tossed the condom to the side and smirked. "Only if you take my pants off for me, as I did for you."

Takumi pulled Leo's pants off; he wore no underpants. His member was raring to go.

"Whoa," said Takumi. "It's beautiful."

"Of course it is. Only someone like me could have such an impressive girth."

Takumi continued to stare at Leo's erection. "What would you like me to do?"

"Touch me with your hands," said Leo. "If you stroke me…there won't be the need for a condom. Meaning we don't have to get up."

"Sounds good to me," said Takumi.

He brought his hand down to Leo's dick and began to rhymically stroke it. It didn't take long for Leo to come; his seed spilled onto the bed sheets.

"…Okay, either I'm really good or you were much hornier than I was," said Takumi.

"It was both, probably." Leo lay back on the bed. "Either way, I'm beat. Let's go to bed."

Takumi leaned over the bed and grabbed the comforter. He lay back and pulled it over himself and Leo.

Rolling onto his side, Takumi felt his chest warm. Knowing Leo for all those years, having experienced so many ups and downs…finally, there were no more secrets. With both a romantic and physical passion for each other, how could there be? Despite the transformation from mere friends to something further, Takumi had never felt more pleased to call Leo his closest friend.

Leo rolled over to face Takumi.

"Hey, Takumi…I hope you had a good birthday."

Takumi moved closer to Leo and kissed him.

"It was the best birthday I've ever had."

Leo kissed Takumi back.

"That's good. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Oh, Leo…" Takumi wrapped his arms around him. "Since you're my best friend, and now my lover…promise me you'll stay by my side, for as long as possible…"

"I promise, Takumi. I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
